THE collection of bins containing garden waste by Cheshire West and Chester Council has been cancelled from today, Thursday.

The decision has been made to prioritise the safety of waste collection staff and to maintain household waste and recycling collections should the number of available staff start to fall.

Residents have also been issued with important advice by the council on how everyone can work together to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Cllr Karen Shore, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, said: “In these challenging times, our priority is to be able to guarantee that we will always collect your household waste, and we have put plans in place to ensure that we can continue to do that while protecting our staff as they go about their jobs.

“The impact of coronavirus over the coming weeks is still unknown and there may be some inevitable service disruption to our service, but please be assured we are planning for every eventuality.

“We have taken the decision to suspend the collection of garden waste from today to enable staff to concentrate their efforts on household waste and recycling.

“We all have a part to play and it’s important we work together to minimise the spread of the virus.

“Please help to keep our staff safe as they do their jobs."

Cllr Shore continued: “If you are showing symptoms of the virus, please put your personal waste such as tissues in a separate plastic bag to your other waste.

“When the bag is full, it needs to be placed inside another bag and then stored somewhere safely out of the way for at least 72 hours before being left out for collection.

“Collections of dry mixed recycling on your normal day of collection will continue although this service may change in the coming weeks if necessary.

“Please be assured that we will do everything we can to ensure you continue to receive these essential services in a timely manner.”

On the wider ramifications of coronavirus, Cllr Shore added: “I know you will all share concerns about the spread of COVID-19 around the world.

“We are now seeing our first confirmed cases in Cheshire, and across the UK, the virus and our response to it is moving into a new phase.

“Please be reassured that the council is at the forefront of the response.

“We are part of a network of public bodies working together to ensure we protect the public and defeat the virus over time.

“We are working closely with partners in the NHS to ensure the most vulnerable people are protected as far as possible and are helping to ensure that messages to the public are clear and consistent.”